How TJ Maxx Quietly Became a $56B Empire (And What You Can Learn From It)

The quiet rise of TJ Maxx.

And its 7 lessons for every one of us.

TJX Companies have become something of a modern retail marvel. 

Despite the ‘retail apocalypse’, it has only grown. 

It navigated an ecom boom with no real  ecom to speak of. 

It weathered the Pandemic lockdowns with relative ease. 

But no need to take my word for it.

The Market makes an irrefutable case. 

2024 Sales, gross margin, and foot traffic set new records. 

Sales exceeded Kohl’s, Burlington, and Ross combined. 

In other words, it did more in Revenue than all of it’s competitors put together.  

And all without much press or fanfare. 

If you think they’re just selling old merch, not so fast.

85% of their inventory is from the current year. 

Their low cost sourcing is much more complex.

TJX isn’t just doing one thing well.

They’ve developed multiple world class systems.

I’m going to go through 7 strategies that have helped TJX quietly become a $56 Billion Global Empire.  

As we go through these strategies, make sure you think through opportunities to emulate them for your company or brand.

1.  𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 “𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭” 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨.  TJX intentionally limits the amount of units per SKU to make shoppers feel like they’re looking for treasure.  

2.  𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨  𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯.  There simply are no distributors or middlemen, allowing for maximum value for customers.  

3.  𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 1,200-𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮.  TJX Companies has one of the most robust sourcing teams in modern retail.  This allows them to find the best deals to pass on to customers.  

4.  𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴.  You won’t see a lot of investment in expensive advertising.  They let their customers do the talking.

5.  𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘹 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤.  TJX Shoppers can find anything from cheap off-brand goods to luxury items.  

6. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵.  TJX stores lead with value first, even when it costs them.  Their North Star is drawing customers into their stores, no matter what.  

7.  𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵.  Prices in TJX stores vary widely.  What matters is that those prices are the lowest customers are going to find.  

Maybe let that last point sink in. 

There is no distinct TJX price point or range. 

Instead, they obsess on driving the highest 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦.  

Truly, everything at TJX is about value for the customer, whether inexpensive goods, or luxury goods.  

So how do you land at the sophisticated TJX model? 

They’re far from the only discount retailer.

So how are they beating their competition?

Well, they’re leading with their non-negotiables. 

And then they design backwards. 

𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦, 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮, and 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺.

What are your non-negotiables?  

 Are you designing to them?

What do you think?

Do you shop TJX brands?

If not, who is your go-to?

Need help driving digital growth in uncertain times?

Email us at: Growth@EliteCommerceGroup.com

———

We drive velocity in Sprouts, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Sam's, COSTCO, and lots of other retailers.

We grow brands on Amazon.